The Curse Of Oak Island Docu-series To Air On History This January

A prophecy says that seven people will die before the treasure of Nova Scotia’s Oak Island is found. Six have died in various accidents already. Today History announced that they’ll be chronicling two brothers’ attempts to uncover the truth about the island with a new docu-series The Curse of Oak Island, set to debut January 5 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

The actual treasure that’s believed to exist on this island off the coast of Nova Scotia is just as much a mystery as anything else. Is it pirate treasure? Shakespeare’s Lost Folios? A magic wishing well that grants every wish? No one knows, but it’s a question a lot of people have tried to answer. Here’s a bit of background information on Oak Island as shared by History:

It all began in the late 1700’s, when three teenaged boys were drawn to a strange, man-made hole that would become known as the “Money Pit.” As the boys began to dig, they ran into layers of logs every few feet, possibly put there to keep the hole from collapsing and revealing its location. As the story goes, the deeper people dug, the stranger things got. A gold chain, tools, nails, and lots of coconut fibers (the nearest coconut tree is some 1500 miles away) were found, as well as a mysterious and now-missing stone with strange, symbols. Decoded, it allegedly read “Forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried.” But the searchers may have unwittingly sprung a trap. The hole filled with water. The leading theory it was fed by a series of intricate underground booby traps linked to the sea. Who would go to such extreme measures to hide something, and what would be so valuable? This mystery has been an obsession for many, but now two brothers aim to find answers.

History’s new show will follow Rick and Marty Lagina’s attempts to get to the bottom of the island’s mysteries. The two Michigan brothers grew up in a working-class family. When Marty made a small fortune in the energy business, he used the money to buy the right sot much of the island so that he and his brother could indulge in their obsession with the island to their hearts’ content.

Using modern technology and good old American know-how, the brothers will search the island for treasure. In the past, many strange artifacts had been found. Evidence of deadly booby-traps, man-made beaches and the list goes on and on. Is it all a lot of smoke, or might something be there? The clock is ticking. The search is expensive, and the brothers need to find the truth before they either run out of money – or one of them falls prey to the tragic curse that has already claimed six lives.

Admittedly, this is the first I’ve ever heard of this island, but I’m already a little bit fascinated by the story and curious to see how these two guys deal with their search. From the sound of it, man’s obsession with the treasure has given the island its own history beyond the mystery of what may or may not be hidden there, so it’ll be cool to see what artifacts these men uncover and whether or not they strike gold.